abortarvsacortaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“abortar” and “acorta” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#17,020
“abortar” frequency rank
#46,903
“acorta” frequency rank
63923
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abortar acorta
Definition Interrumpir el embarazo Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de acortar o de acortarse.

Where the eye mixes abortar and acorta

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. abortar runs 7 letters (VCVCCVC) against acorta's 6 (VCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
abortar
6 ch
acorta

Visual trap between abortar and acorta

A purely visual mix-up. abortar ([aβ̞oɾˈt̪aɾ]) and acorta ([aˈkoɾt̪a]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63923, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abortar is recorded at frequency rank #17,020, classified as averb, pronounced [aβ̞oɾˈt̪aɾ]. acorta is at rank #46,903, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈkoɾt̪a].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 63923, this pair ranks #47,149 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of abortar vs acorta

Shared letters: aort. Private to "abortar": b. Private to "acorta": c.

"abortar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC  ·  "acorta" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abortar ← abbortar · aboratr · aborrtar · abortarr · abortra · aborttar · abotrar · abrotar
  • acorta ← accorta · acorat · acorrta · acortta · acrota · aocrta · caorta

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abortar" and "acorta" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aβ̞oɾˈt̪aɾ] versus [aˈkoɾt̪a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abortar" or "acorta"?
"abortar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,020 in our Spanish list, against #46,903 for "acorta". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abortar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "acorta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #47,149 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abortar" and "acorta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acorta vs Alcorta". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #47,149 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list